2 weeks Ago By Heath Harrison
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, April 23, 2025 By Heath Harrison Wyatt Harper stars in Dawson-Bryant Elementary School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8. (Submitted photo) Kendall Howard portrays the Wicked Witch of the West in Dawson-Bryant Elementary School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8. (Submitted photo) Dawson-Bryant Elementary School hosted two shows of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8.
Miranda Henry portrays Glinda in Dawson-Bryant Elementary School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8. atelyn Poyner, Daisy Lima, Maizleigh Rowe in Dawson-Bryant Elementary School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8. The Tin Man, portrayed by Jonas Beals; Hank Turley, as the Cowardly Lion; and very LaFon, as the Scarecrow in Dawson-Bryant Elementary School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8.
Kendall Howard portrays the Wicked Witch of the West in Dawson-Bryant Elementary School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8. (Submitted photo) Rhonda Hall Dorothy, portrayed by Eleanor Mader, and Hunter Bruce, as Toto, star in Dawson-Bryant Elementary School’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” on April 8. (Submitted photo) Dawson-Bryant Elementary teacher wraps up two decades directing school’s annual theater production DEERING — On April 8, the production of “The Wizard of Oz” at Dawson-Bryant Elementary marked one of the teachers there reaching the end of the Yellow Brick Road for her longtime as theater director.
Rhonda Hall is the fifth grade reading teacher at the school and, for the past 22 years, she has directed the school’s fifth graders in their annual theater productions. “It was the best,” Hall said of how the show went this year. “This group was amazing and some of the best I’ve ever had.
” The students performed two shows, one, in the day, for other students, and another, in the evening, for parents and families. This year’s production featured 39 students. In some years, Hall said the shows can have even larger casts, including one year, where 82 took part.
“Oz” has been a popular favorite, performed many times at the school, while Hall says other productions have included “Doo-Wop Wed Widing Hood,” “Twinderella” and “Wonderland.” In addition to acting, Hall said students handled music, props and other crew duties. She said one parent, Aaron Watson, made props, along with his son, Connor.
“And they were beautiful,” she said. She sais students start on the production as far back as October, as part of the school’s afterschool program, working two days a week, through December. After they returned from Christmas break in January, they begin working three days a week, through March, in preparation for the show.
Hall will continue as a teacher at the school, but this is her last year as director. She is turning that job over to her assistant director, Allie Skaggs, who is also her cousin and a teacher at the school. “I taught her,” Hall said.
“And it is great that someone so creative will be taking over.” For Hall’s final show, she said she had special guests in the audience, with students from her first year directing, now past college age, returning to watch. “My first Dorothy and my first Wizard came back,” she said.
In addition to the shows, Hall also takes the students on a trip to see a much larger theatrical production. This year, she will be taking a group of 37 children to New York City, where they will watch “Wicked” on Broadway. These trips are all coordinated with Angie Lafon, the school’s former principal, who now works at the district’s board of education.
Hall noted that this will be their first trip to New York since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In recent years, she took a group to Dayton to see a production of “The Lion King.” When asked what she has enjoyed the most about her time as director, Hall said it is seeing another side of the students and watching their self esteem build.
“I love seeing them different than how I see them in classroom and how they shine on stage,” she said. “I get to see their confidence grow and them do something they’ve never done before. It’s something other teachers don’t get to see.
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